Friday, November 24, 2006
Last night I was listening to people talking outside my window. I guess they were having a bonfire in their backyard, trying to burn some of the leaves that had fallen from my tree onto their grass. I didn't mean to overhear what they were saying, but they were talking kind of loud. It was all about a relationship, and how the cheater was reformed, the liar was telling the truth, and the baggage had been stripped away. The connection was pure. A new start had been made. Do you know what I think?
Bullshit.
~Sara~
1:13 PM
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
"Hold the scalpel like a sword," he tells me. "Hold it like a pencil," she said. Get through the skin in one cut, and don't bevel the blade. Hand the scalpel back handle first, with the blade turned down. Put it on the mayo. Don't touch anything on the mayo. Be careful to hold the tissue gently. Don't fold the skin back to find the dermis. The foreceps are an extension of your fingers. Don't put your thumb in the needle driver. Learn to palm the intruments. Turn your wrist and follow the natural curve of the needle. Find the planes. I'm not going to show you until you try it yourself.
Eat right. Get plenty of exercise. Sleep when you can. Call your family. Let them support you.
Read everyday, for the next five years. Prepare for your cases. Know the anatomy. Memorize treatment plans. Know which path to take. Know the research and know its flaws. Read multiple sources. Read two textbooks. Read the abstracts in the New England Journal every Sunday.
Constantly self-evaluate. Develop a thick skin.
This is both more terrible and more wonderful than I thought it would be. Grab at your chance to operate. It's the only way you will remember why this is all worth it.
~Sara~
10:20 PM
